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The practice of Dialogue, though as old as mankind itself, is revolutionizing today2s business world. Dialogue is a way of conversing and thinking together that dissolves barriers and creates organizational cultures energized by collaboration and partnership. Peter Senge has called Dialogue an important tool for promoting team learning and fostering shared meaning and community within an organization. Now Dialogue: Rediscover the Transforming Power of Conversation shows leaders how talking about what matters can pave the way to new heights of creativity and productivity. Linda Ellinor and Glenna Gerard, cofounders of their consulting firm, The Dialogue Group, draw upon their combined 50… years of experience in organizations to show how Dialogue can change the way we work by widening information arteries so that employees at every level begin to think along "leadership" lines and take responsibility for how their actions affect the whole organization. Diversity becomes a high-leverage resource; conflict becomes a creative opportunity. Leading companies including Levi Strauss, Shell, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, and AT&T are unleashing the wellspring of power that flows naturally from the trust, mutual respect, and spirit of inquiry that are at Dialogue2s core. In an organizational world fragmented by competition, takeovers, downsizing, and reengineering, the inspiration and meaning that energize us and make work satisfying are often hard to come by. Linda Ellinor and Glenna Gerard offer clear strategies and guides for rekindling our spirits and renewing our ability to work creatively with the key dilemmas we face every day. They engage us in practical reflections and exercises to help bring the value of Dialogue into all our conversations. The strategies they describe for integrating dialogic principles into any group can help leaders at every level: Create and sustain collaborative partnerships that foster shared responsibility and accountability Develop skills to build the trust needed to surface "undiscussable" issues that block creativity and learning and diminish effectiveness Open doors to new and creative ways of thinking and problem solving Get at the roots of recurring problems Reawaken the meaning, satisfaction, and inspiration in work Dialogue will provoke your thinking about: What is involved in "being the change you wish to see" in organizations, and how can Dialogue help? What is the price/reward of having conversations that get to the root of things? How do we ask important questions so as to see the larger picture before crafting our responses? How can dialogue foster self-organization and systems thinking? Dialogue shows how to tap into the collective wisdom essential to high functioning work environments. "An extraordinarily important book, Dialogue challenges us to examine our basic assumptions about the fundamental purpose and method of conversation, and offers rich resources on how to find greater meaning and joy in our everyday encounters. It2s the best book yet on a subject of ever-increasing importance." -Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Chairman Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems. "Many people are talking about dialogue these days. But there are few places to turn to learn the practices that might enable it to happen. This book is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in practicing dialogue and learning ways to introduce it in the settings in which they live and work." - William Isaacs Director of the MIT Dialogue Project and President, DIAlogos, Inc. "Dialogue is possibly the most powerful tool you will ever find to develop and harness the wisdom and experiences of the people who drive your organization. Dialogue is a must read for any executive driven to succeed." -Robert Harrison, Jr. Vice President of Sales CIGNA HealthCare of California "A classic and seminal look. . . . Ellinor a

The Connection between Conversation, Leadership, and Cultures of Collaboration and Partnership

What Is Dialogue?

Where Does Dialogue Come From?

The Current Practice of Dialogue

Our Expanding Worldview: Finding Order in Chaos through Dialogue

The Larger Questions

The "Living Technology" Of Dialogue

Suspension of Judgment

Identification and Suspension of Assumptions

Listening

Inquiry and Reflection

Nonverbal Communication and Dialogue

Guides for Creating and Sustaining Dialogue

Putting It All Together Over Time

Bringing Dialogue To Work

Conversational Values and Patterns

Creating the Change You Wish to See

Fostering Dialogue within the Organization

In Real Life

The Transformational Power Of Dialogue

Synchronicity and Dialogue

Collective Energy Fields

Holding Paradox

Fuzzy Logic, Polarities, and Fuzzy Agreements

Shadow and Dialogue

Difference and Dialogue

On-Line Conversations

Moving through Learning Edges

In Closing

A Dialogue On Partnership

Closing Thoughts

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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